Quarantine Speech

The Quarantine Speech was given by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on October 5, 1937, in Chicago, calling for an international "quarantine of the aggressor nations" as an alternative to the political climate of American neutrality and non-intervention that was prevalent at the time. The speech intensified America's isolationist mood, causing protest by non-interventionists and foes to intervention. No countries were directly mentioned in the speech, but it was interpreted as referring to Japan, Italy, and Germany. Roosevelt suggested the use of economic pressure, a forceful response, but less direct than outright aggression.

Public response to the speech was mixed. Famed cartoonist Percy Crosby, creator of the Skippy strip and very outspoken Roosevelt critic, bought a two-page advertisement in the New York Sun to attack it. It was also heavily criticized by Hearst-owned newspapers and Robert R. McCormick of the Chicago Tribune, but several subsequent compendia of editorials showed overall approval in US media.

References

• Franklin D. Roosevelt and American foreign policy, 1932-1945: with a new afterword, Robert Dallek, 1995, Oxford University Press. Page 152. [1]. ISBN 9780195097320.
• No more killing fields: preventing deadly conflict. David A. Hamburg, Cyrus R. Vance, 2003, Rowman & Littlefield. Pages 36–37. [2]. ISBN 9780742516755.